Pyruvate Kinase

Pyruvate kinase is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate and ADP to pyruvate and ATP in glycolysis and plays a role in regulating cell metabolism. There are four mammalian pyruvate kinase isoforms (PKM1, PKM2, PKR, PKL), and each isoform has had multiple designations over time in the literature. The M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) supports anabolic metabolism and is expressed both in cancer and normal tissue. The enzymatic activity of PKM2 is allosterically regulated by both intracellular signaling pathways and metabolites; PKM2 thus integrates signaling and metabolic inputs to modulate glucose metabolism according to the needs of the cell.